Enewsletter

Further Thoughts

We wanted to dedicate another
issue of Spam to various thoughts about recent events and their implications.
Thanks to everyone who gave us feeback on last week's column.

Mixed Images

A week after the
bombings occurred, I spent my day videotaping animals at slaughterhouses and
on factory farms. I saw ducks being shackled at the slaughterhouse, a downed
cow at a slaughterhouse, pigs in pens awaiting slaughter, and baby female calves
chained by the neck in tiny stalls.

On the way there,
I thought of the bombings. And on the way back my mind was filled with images
of what I had just seen, what happened in NYC, and a fear of what was to come.

I wish everyone
could see inside of factory farms and slaughterhouses. The media is the quickest
avenue through which to achieve this, but we all know that media interest will
be lacking for awhile. This does not mean our efforts should diminish. We can
remind people that during this time when we don't have much control over world
events, there is still something they can do. By going vegan, they can help
to end some of the horror in the world.

We had leafleting
events in San Francisco and Berkeley this past weekend and both were very positive.
Not one person made a negative comment on us being there so soon after the bombings.
There was a church next door to one of our events and the people were supportive
as they walked by and took our literature.

Perhaps compassion
is filling some people's hearts and it is a good time for us to bring our message
to them.

Helping in a Time of Helplessness

As I watched the footage of
businesspeople jumping to their deaths, families grieving for their lost loved
ones, and all of the other horrors of the past week, I must admit that I felt
a sense of helplessness. In the face of such atrocity, I wanted nothing more
than to help those in need, if even only in the most minor way. I quickly realized
however, that there was little, if anything, the vast majority of us could do
to alleviate the suffering.

My thoughts then shifted focus
to what could be done to prevent future similar tragedies, and again, I came
up short. Despite our president's PR-driven assurances that the attacks occurred
because the United States is a "beacon of freedom," I knew all too
well that these attacks were committed because of specific U.S. foreign policies
which–rightly or wrongly–enrage much of the Muslim world.

As I can't do much to comfort
the victims' families nor do I feel that I'm in a position to change U.S. foreign
policy, I sank deeper into feelings of helplessness. Are we truly powerless
in the struggle against violence and terror?

Perhaps on the international
terrorism front, there isn't much normal citizens like myself can do. However,
while my attention has understandably been focused primarily on terrorism lately,
it was helpful for me to remember that there is indeed much individuals like
myself can do to make the world a gentler, more compassionate place to inhabit.

By continuing to promote veganism
and animal liberation, we're able to contribute to the building of a better
world in a very direct way, thereby giving our lives the meaning we're desperately
searching for in this time of helplessness.

A reason for my terror while
pondering the recent attacks was due to the vulnerability of the American people
to these kinds of atrocities. But, we need to remember that there is no group
of individuals more vulnerable than the nonhuman animals we systematically terrorize
and kill by the millions each and every day, with virtually no one grieving
their losses or even recognizing our status as oppressors in their eyes.

The animals we institutionally
exploit also feel pain and suffering. They also care about their lives and the
lives of their loved ones. For them, there is nothing more important than the
creation of a world where being born into the "wrong" species isn't
a crime punishable by a lifetime of torture followed by an unimaginable death.

Each one of us can help
create that world. While we may not be able to correct all of the world's injustices,
it is imperative that each of us do what we can to make the world a better place
for us having lived in it. After all, what reason is there to live if we can't
say that our existence was more helpful than harmful?

War and Activism

The United States'
government is now preparing for war. This might make someone think that efforts
for animals have become futile. However, it should be pointed out that major
social progress can and has occurred during times of war. The time during which
the U.S. was involved in Vietnam saw much progress for many social movements.
The creation of the Environmental Protection Agency is just one example. There
were also advances to protect animals, such as The Marine Mammal Protection
Act of 1972 and The Endangered Species Act of 1973.

I would not say
that this was the case during the Gulf War. I don't have any direct measurement
to go by, but my experience was that animal activism dropped off drastically
and did not pick up for a year or two afterwards. We can make sure this does
not happen again.

"I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here"

The issues posed by Osama
Bin Laden, the Taliban, global arms proliferation, global poverty, and other
socio-politically caused suffering, are difficult ones. Understandably, people
at every point on the political spectrum feel confused and powerless. There
is so much violence and suffering in the world, and events like those of September
11 thrust that reality upon us in a way that is impossible to ignore. People
are searching both for ways to respond and for ways to regain their sense of
control and calm.

Few people understood the
world's evils better than folk legend Phil Ochs. In one of my favorite Ochs
songs, he lists all the awfulness in the world, a catalog of ills that could
dishearten the most optimistic person, and then he notes that we will not be
able to fight for change after death, declaring, "I guess I'll have to
do it while I'm here." I've been listening to this song a lot over the
past 10 days.

The animal rights message
is, I believe, a powerful response to this violence, and it represents something
that people can do to make the world a better and less violent place. Each time
any of us sits down to eat, we make a choice: Do we want to add to the level
of violence, terror, suffering, and death in the world? Or do we prefer a compassionate,
life-giving, vegan choice? This is a message that we, as compassionate people,
can and must offer to society. Now is the time to redouble our efforts and bring our
message of compassion to those who are more open than ever before to making
changes in their daily lives that will give them a sense of empowerment and
that will help ease suffering, terror, and death.

Although I haven't really felt
it since September 11, I do often think of myself as one of the luckiest people
alive. If I weren't working for PETA, I would be devoting all my spare time
to animal activism and would have to devote my work time elsewhere. Because
I feel this way, I strive to devote 60 hours or more per week to animal activism,
so that I can approximate what so many of our activists are doing. I know how
incredibly lucky I am to have access to PETA's resources and the exceptionally
competent PETA staff working with me through it all.

Because I've been at PETA during
this time of crisis, I've had more time than most people to consider what sort
of response seems appropriate for animal activists. Most importantly, I return to the fact that the
level of animal abuse in society is beyond anything we can easily imagine.
The other animals feel pain as we do, they are horrified at the sights and smells
inside the slaughterhouse, and they're afraid to die. Like us, they fight for
their lives and wish to avoid pain. People must understand that if they are
eating meat, they are promoting violence and killing on a massive scale: Animals
raised for food lead lives of utter misery and die violent and gruesome deaths.
This level of evil requires a clear-headed focus on how we can change the world,
one person at a time.

I have watched, repeatedly,
PETA's "Meet Your Meat" video as well as our recent Seaboard pig farm
investigational video. They help me focus on the level of suffering involved
in eating animal products. They help me speak up when the situation is uncomfortable.
They help me realize that I can part with that extra cash I was going to spend
on some personal knickknack; people (and the animals) need more resources for
spreading veganism. I'm not living the animals' hell, so I feel it necessary
to keep the suffering in my mind's eye, because it's more comfortable and too
easy to forget.

The level
of suffering demands that we reflect on what method is going to be the most
useful and effective in turning people toward veganism. It is easy to become
self-righteous, interpersonally violent and abusive, condescending or snide,
or noticeably angry. We know how the animals suffer, and it's frustrating to
deal with people who display ignorance or apathy.

But the
animals deserve better. It may be personally satisfying to tell off (or write
off) a meat-eater, but the animal suffering requires that we ponder our most
effective method of conversion. I personally know the satisfaction of walking
away from a conversation having really "told off" some obnoxious meat-eater,
and I know what it's like to decide, "(S)he just won't listen." But
unfortunately, such interactions don't bring people one iota closer to veganism;
if anything, they do the opposite. How many of us know animal activists who
are condescending and unpleasant in their activism? How many of us have ever
been influenced by someone like that on any issue?

The animals
require that we speak up, and they require that we come across as likable, thoughtful,
and willing to listen. I recommend that everyone take the time to read How
to Win Friends and Influence People. If it works for the corporate executives
and public relations gurus, it can work for us. The lessons are basic but extremely
useful.

A similar
issue is the human tendency to avoid conflict. "Why are you a vegan?"
someone will ask, an edge to their voice. Alarm bells go off; your body prepares
for fight or flight. You take the easy way out, "It's just my personal
decision." Whew. Conflict avoided. But, again, the animals deserve better.
At the very least, practice in front of a mirror saying a few of the things
that move you the most about veganism. And carry a small stack of Why Vegan?
bookletswith you everywhere you go. Give them to anyone who asks
(and leave them in doctors' offices, etc., where people are likely to want something
to read).

The tragedy
of September 11 and its aftermath pose an array of difficult questions. I am
reminded of the words of Nobel Prize winner and holocaust historian Isaac Bashevis
Singer, who stated, "Nuclear power, starvation, cruelty–we must make a
statement against these things. Vegetarianism is my statement. And I think it's
a strong one." Each new vegan represents a huge victory for compassion
and nonviolence, a victory of good over evil in the world.